Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 93727 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93727 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
I wanted to get our little meeting over with as fast as possible so I could get my mate alone and just breathe her in. Seeing Zeke’s face on that video, the pain in his eyes as he said goodbye to the other half of his soul, had felt like someone was reaching inside my chest and twisting my insides into a knot. Witnessing Charlie’s reaction to the goodbye had almost been worse.
My skin was on fire. My head pounded. I’d vomited more in the last month than I had in my entire life. My muscles were knotted and painful. Being away from Rosemary was awful. It was the worst thing I’d ever forced myself to do. I ached for her.
But if I had to make the same choices again, I would, because nothing mattered more than keeping her safe. She was safe with Gary on that piece of land that no one knew how to find.
“You’re back,” Gary greeted as he wheeled onto the porch to meet us.
“It took longer than I thought,” I replied.
“You didn’t tell me he was in a wheelchair,” Chance muttered, coming up beside me. “How is he supposed to protect your mate?”
I clenched my teeth together in frustration.
“My hearing’s not so bad,” Gary replied, looking Chance over. “At least she’ll have a little warning before men start repelling onto the roof.”
“Sorry, my brother’s a jackass,” I told Gary, walking toward him. “Chance, this is Gary Whitlock.”
“Nice to meet you,” Chance said easily, as if he hadn’t just been completely offensive.
“You too,” Gary replied flatly, rising to his feet to shake Chance’s hand.
“Aw, shit.” Chance nodded. “Hiding in plain sight.”
“You’re a fucking idiot,” I snapped.
Gary just shook his head.
“Is she inside?” I moved to pass him, but jerked to a stop when his hand landed heavily on my arm.
“A little warning,” Gary said, his voice low. “She’s been giving you a long leash. You no longer have one.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant until I entered the house. Immediately, the sound of pacing steps was audible, thudding over the hardwood.
Dalton nodded at me from the couch and jerked his head toward Rosemary’s bedroom.
When I found her, my breath left me in a whoosh, and I couldn’t seem to drag any back in.
Rosemary was a mess. Her hair was wet and tangled so badly that it looked half as long as it actually was. She was wearing a pair of shorts and a shirt that were too big for her and didn’t match. There were little scratches all over her forearms and the lower halves of her legs.
Her face was haggard, her eyes hollow.
And her feet were leaving bloody footprints all over the floor.
She jerked to a stop, her eyes on me. “You’re back.”
“What the fuck happened?” I asked, my heart thundering in my throat.
I wasn’t prepared for the way she flew at me, but I would’ve caught her anyway.
I didn’t get the chance.
Her nails raked across my face so quickly that I didn’t even dodge them.
I was too shocked to defend myself as she shoved at my chest, her fists pounding against my sternum.
“Three hours!” she screamed, her voice breaking. “You said three hours.”
“I got held up,” I countered, finally catching her wrists. She tried to rip them away, and I struggled to hold her captive without hurting her.
“Held up?” Her eyes widened in disbelief, and her face jutted toward mine. “Fuck you!”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I asked in confusion.
In the next moment, I was flat on my back, my top half in the hallway, and my bottom half still in her bedroom. My head bounced off the floor.
Rosemary was straddling me, her eyes filled with a level of anger that I’d only seen a few times before and never from her.
“You left me here,” she raged, leaning down into my face. “You left, and you didn’t come back!”
“I’m here,” I shouted back, mostly because I didn’t think she would actually hear me if I spoke normally.
“You said three hours.”
“Things took longer than I thought they would,” I said, trying to soothe her. I ran my thumbs over the delicate tendons in her wrists. “I lost track of time.”
Rosemary stared at me like she’d never seen me before.
“What kind of mate are you?” she whispered scathingly.
“Yours,” I replied instantly.
“You—I—” she shook her head. Her body lost the tension she’d been holding, and her shoulders slumped. “There’s something wrong with you.”
“What the hell is going on?” Sitting up, I ignored the sore spot on the back of my head and gripped her hips before she could climb off me. “You’re bleeding.”
“I’m fine,” Rosemary replied tiredly.
“You’re not fine.”
“No,” she let out a humorless laugh, the sound bordering on hysteria. “No, you’re right. I’m not. Let go of me.” She shoved at my wrists.
Letting my hands fall away, I stared as she rose slowly to her feet and stepped over me. A second later, the bathroom closed almost silently behind her.